Target (NYSE:TGT) Insider Sells $2,634,380.00 in Stock

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) insider Melissa Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,552,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,465,748. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.97. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $170.75.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 48.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Target

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Target by 13,417.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 91,340,014 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,929,919,000 after buying an additional 90,664,304 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $5,054,604,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $831,466,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $587,903,000. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,571,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Target from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Target from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.52.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.